1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connection terminal with a housing, with two clamping springs and with at least one current bar, the housing having a chamber for accommodation of the clamping springs and at least one end of the at least one current bar and at least one conductor entry opening for entry of two conductors, and the clamping springs being located next to one another relative to the longitudinal extension of the current bar. In addition, the invention also relates to a method for mounting of a corresponding electrical connection terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connection terminals are known in a plurality of embodiments. The terminals can be made, for example, for connection to another conductor as a terminal block or for connection of an electrical conductor to a circuit board as a so-called print terminal. Moreover, electrical connection terminals can also be part of electrical devices such as, for example, miniature circuit breakers, ground fault circuit interrupters, or overvoltage breakers and can be used for connection of the conductors which are to be connected to the components which are located in the interior of the devices.
Clamping springs can be loop-shaped clamping springs, so-called tension spring terminals, and also U-shaped or V-shaped clamping springs, so-called leg springs. In leg springs, rigid conductors or conductors which are provided with a wire end ferrule can be inserted directly, i.e., without the clamping site having to be opened beforehand with a tool. Therefore these terminals are also called direct push-lock terminals. In the known loop-shaped tension springs, according to their name, the conductor which is to be connected is pulled by the clamping leg against a conductor bar. In contrast thereto, for U-shaped or V-shaped clamping springs, the conductor which is to be connected is pressed against the current bar or one region of a metal part.
German Patent Application DE 10 2008 039 232 A1 discloses an electrical connection terminal with an essentially V-shaped clamping spring and a metal part. In this connection terminal, the clamping spring acts as a compression spring which presses a conductor which is to be connected by the spring force of the clamping spring against a bent section of the metal part which acts as a current bar, and in this way, produces the electrically conductive contact between the conductor and the current bar or the metal part.
In general, in a chamber which is made in the housing of an electrical connection terminal, there are always only one clamping spring and one current bar or the end of one current bar so that only one electrical conductor for insertion into the clamping site can be inserted through the conductor entry opening. But, in addition, there are also electrical connection terminals which have a so-called double connection in which, specifically within a chamber, there are two clamping springs for connection of two conductors next to one another. In practice, these connection terminals with double connection are used, for example, as distribution terminals since they offer the possibility of a high wiring density on an extremely narrow space by the double connection (compare brochure “Terminal Blocks CLIPLINE 2005” page 153 of Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG). In these known terminals, within the chamber, there are two tension spring terminals with which two electrical conductors can be connected to the same potential or for two chambers which are made in the housing, four conductors can be connected to a potential.
German Patent Application DE 10 2009 048 932 A1 discloses an electrical connection terminal as part of an installation switching device in which within a chamber two electrical conductors can be connected to a current bar. For this purpose, there is a double spring with two clamping legs within a clamping frame, the two clamping legs each have a clamping piece which is bent away from the clamping frame forming a clamping site for a stripped conductor which is to be connected. On the second narrow side of the clamping frame opposite the first narrow side with the clamping piece, moreover, a current bar is molded via which the electrical connection is established between the clamping frame and a component which is located within the installation switching device. However, the disadvantage here is that a special double spring is needed as the clamping spring. Moreover, the mounting of the clamping frame with the current bar molded on it and of the double spring which has been inserted into the clamping frame is complex.